FIFA probes Uganda FA chief Magogo over illegal ticket sales

Uganda’s Magogo with Infantino at a Doha meeting early this year. PHOTO FUFA MEDIA

Kampala, Uganda | AFP | The head of Uganda’s football association Moses Magogo said Tuesday he was under investigation by FIFA over his alleged involvement in the illegal sale of 2014 World Cup tickets.

According to a letter sent from FIFA to Magogo that was seen by AFP, the football chief is accused of selling the complementary tickets allocated to Uganda.

“We got the communication from FIFA on the allegations raised and my legal team is handling the matter,” Magogo told AFP, confirming he was under investigation.

The probe comes after Ugandan lawmaker Allan Ssweanyana — who also co-owns a local football club — petitioned FIFA in May, accusing Magogo of selling all 177 tickets allocated to Uganda to an agent in the United States.

FIFA allocates tickets to all national associations to ensure that all fans worldwide can be able to access them at affordable prices.

Magogo, who has been in office for five years, is set to have his term extended after the football governing body Federation of Uganda Football Associations (FUFA) on Tuesday disqualified his lone challenger, ex-international Mujib Kasule, for his post in the August 5 elections.

Magogo has recently been elected to several Confederation of African Football committees after playing a key role mobilising regional support for the elecion of FIFA president Infantino last year, and also for the new CAF president Ahmad Ahmad early this year.

Prior to the CAF elections, Infantino visited several African countries including Uganda.

Legislator Ssewanyana (middle) has brought the charges against Magogo

No investigation’ opened into Infantino over CAF, says FIFA

Lausanne, Switzerland | AFP | Football’s world governing body FIFA assured Tuesday that “no investigation” had been opened into president Gianni Infantino after sources said his role in the Confederation of African Football’s presidential elections was being looked into.

Maria Claudia Rojas, the new president of the investigatory chamber of FIFA’s ethics committee, “has confirmed that all files have been handed over to her and that there are no open preliminary or investigation proceedings involving the FIFA President”, the organisation said in a statement.

“It is in FIFA’s interest that the work of the ethics committee is not disrupted by conjecture of any kind,” the statement added.

“Therefore, FIFA will refrain from commenting any further on baseless speculation and will instead concentrate on providing concrete information.”

Sources told AFP on Monday that Swiss prosecutor Cornel Borbely, who was chairman of the ethics committee’s investigatory chamber before being removed last month, had opened an investigation into suggestions Infantino might have sought to influence the election of Madagascar’s Ahmad Ahmad as president of CAF in March.

The investigation stemmed from evidence provided by African representatives, a source close to FIFA said.

Several African witnesses had been set to travel to FIFA headquarters in the Swiss city of Zurich but at least one of them had their summons cancelled after Borbely was removed from his post, the same source said.

British newspaper The Guardian reported on Sunday that Infantino was being investigated for claims he had promised, along with FIFA general secretary Fatma Samoura, to accelerate payments of development money to national football associations if the presidents voted for Ahmad.

FIFA announced their decision to remove Borbely and Germany’s Hans-Joachim Eckert from their posts in the ethics team during the organisation’s congress in Bahrain last month.

Borbely said the decision was “a setback in the fight against corruption” as there were “several hundred cases” of corruption pending.